Housing for business machine



Sept. 8, 1964 K. F. OLDENBURG ETAI. 3,147,943

' HOUSING FOR BUSINESS MACHINE Filed Oct. 8, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. KEN/VET If GLDEIVBUEG DOM/N/(K 1712/0 BY Z1 2. MA

P 1964 K. F. OLDENBURG ETI'AI. 3,147,943

HOUSING FOR BUSINESS MACHINE 'F'iled Oct. 8, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a 1mm n [/1 I rvjlllllllllvlvllrlulllvlvrvlvlrri United States Patent3,147,943 HOlUdlNG FGR BUSINESS MACHZNE Kenneth F. Oldenburg, Arcadia,and Dominick Fazio,

Ean Gabriel, Califi, assignors, by means assignments, to

Addmaster Corporation, San Gabriel, Galiil, a corporation of IaiiforniaFiled Get. 3, 1962, er. No. 223,878 7 Claims. (Ci. 248-2) This inventionrelates to business machines and has particular reference to means forremovably attaching housing or cover parts thereto.

As is Well known, business machines such as adding and calculatingmachines require servicing and repair from time to time, thusnecessitating removal of the housing therefor.

l-ieretofore, such housing parts have generally been removably held inplace either by screws or by separate latching devices which haveportions extending exteriorly of the machine. whereby they may bemanually actuated to release at least one of the housing parts so thatit may be removed to permit access to the interior of the machine.

Such screws and/or latching devices not only detract from the appearanceof the machine when they are visible from the exterior but also increasethe cost of manufacture and assembly of the machine.

It therefore becomes a principal object of the present invention toremovably secure the housing parts of a business machine in placewithout the use of exposed screws or latching devices.

Another object is to obviate the need for separate fastening devices forattaching the housing parts of a business machine in place.

Another object is to utilize the resiliency of a resilient housing partto effect attachment and detachment of the housing part to and from thechassis or frame of a business machine.

The manner in which the above and other objects of the invention areaccomplished will be readily understood on reference to the followingspecification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an adding machine embodying a preferred form ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the means formounting the machine in the housing parts or sections and the latchingarrangement for locking the housing sections together.

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the cooperating latch andlatching shoulder combinations.

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view, similar to FIG. 4, but illustrating amodified form of the invention.

Referring to the drawings, the details of the adding machine mechanismare omitted therein for the sake of brevity and clarity since suchdetails are believed unnecessary. However, it should be noted that themachine mechanism is supported on a base plate 12 by a set of sideframes, partly indicated at 13 and 14, on one side of the machine and asimilar set of side frames on the opposite side of the machine. ablysecured to the base plate 12.

The sides frames 13 which support the keyboard section (not shown) areheld in parallel relation through a pair of channel bars 15 and 16attached thereto while the frames 14 for supporting the printer section(not shown) are also held in parallel relation by the channel bar 16 anda second channel bar (not shown).

The housing for the machine comprises an upper housing section generallyindicated at 17 and a lower housing section generally indicated at 18,which sections are The side frames are suit- 3,147,943 Patented Sept. 8,1964 formed of a relatively resilient molded plastic material havinghigh impact characteristics such as that known in the trade asPolystyrene, a product of the Dow Chemical Company.

The lower housing section 18 comprises a bottom section 21 havingsubstantially vertical side walls 22 therearound which enclose the lowersection of the machine.

The bottom section 21 has four raised support bosses 23, FIGS. 1 and 2,having cavities 24 therein for retaining annular mountings 25 preferablyof rubber. The latter have holes 26 therein for receiving locating pins27 which project downward from the base plate 12 to position and locatesaid machine in said lower housing section.

A raised central portion 28 on each of the mountings 25 projects abovethe respective boss 23, thereby retaining the base plate 12 off thebosses 23 to allow the base plate to compress the mountings upon adownward pressure being applied to the top of the machine or uponvibration resulting from machine operation.

The front or foremost portion of the housing side wall 22 has integrallyformed on its inner surface thereof a latch support block 29 having arelieved section 31 formed therein for receiving the base portion 32 ofa latch 33. The portion 32 is integrally retained in the section 31 insome appropriate manner such as by the application of an epoxy glue.However, the latch 33 could alternatively be formed integrally with therest of the housing during the molding process.

At the rear of the housing, on its inner surface, the wall 22 has asecond latch support block 34 integral therewith which retains a baseportion 35 of a second latch 36 in the same manner as the forwardlylocated support block.

The upper housing section 17 has integrally formed on a top section 2i?thereof a pair of bosses 39 supporting pins 37 which extend into holes38 in a set of grommets 39 formed of a resilient material, such asrubber, which are retained in openings 41 in the channel bar 16.

A pair of bosses 42 are integrally formed on the inside of the housing17 towards the rear thereof. The latter bosses have tips 43 formed of aresilient material, such as rubber, mounted thereon which rest againstupstanding stems 44 on the side frames 14.

A skirt or side wall 45 integrally formed on the top section 2% extendsdownwardly to mate with the side wall 22 of section 21, thereby encasingthe machine. It will be noted that the lower edge of the skirt overlapsthe upper edge of the side wall 22 to eifectively seal off the interiorof the housing at the juncture of the two housing sections.

A pair of latch shoulder supports 46 and 47 are integrally formed on theinside of side wall 45 adjacent respective latches 33 and 36, and haverecesses 48 and 49 for receiving latching shoulder inserts 51 and 52,respectively, which are held in position in the same manner as thelatches. However, the latch shoulders could be formed integrally withthe upper housing section during molding of the latter.

The upper housing latch shoulder 51 is guided for alignment with itsrespective latch during assembly of the upper housing section by anextension 53, FIGS. 2 and 3, of the channel bar 15, which extensionprojects toward the front of the machine into the path of a guide slot54 integrally formed in the upper housing section. This alignment alsohelps align the pins 37 with the holes in the grommets 39.

When assembling the upper housing section in place, the guide slot 54 isfitted over the extension 53 and the pins 37 are aligned with the holesin the grommets 39. The upper housing section is then pressed downwardlyto cause camming surfaces 55 formed on the bottoms of the latchshoulders, FIG. 4, to cam against inclined surfaces 3 on the latches 33and 36, thereby flexing the side wall 22 of the lower housing sectioninwardly in the vicinity of the latches to allow each latch shoulder 55to drop below a rounded nose 56 of the associated latch. During thisflexing movement, the skirt of the upper housing section also flexesoutwardly somewhat.

At the same time that the shoulders 55 clear the latches, the sides 22will snap back to their original positions which will place the noses 56in latching position behind rounded lips 57 of the latch shoulders.

The downward pressure applied to housing section 17 in assembling thesame in place will compress the resilient grommets 39 and the resilienttips 43 and will likewise cause the base plate 12 to compress themountings 25 slightly. Upon release of applied pressure on the housingsection 17 the resilient members will rebound until the latches andrespective latch shoulders lock together, as seen in FIG. 4, therebylocking the housing sections together, while the partially compressedresilient members will hold the machine suspended from the housingthereby preventing transmission of noise of the machine from travelingto the housing.

It should be noted that the extension 53 for guiding the upper sectionalso carries a resilient protector 30, such as rubber, to prevent noisetransmission to the housing.

To remove the upper housing section for gaining access to the machine,finger pressure is applied at points on the side wall 22 indicated byarrows A and B in FIGS. 1 and 2, causing the round noses 56 of thelatches to slip over the round portions 57 of the latching shoulders,thereby allowing the resilient members to fully rebound to lift thelatching shoulders clear of the latches.

Since the longitudinal sides of the housing sections have a relativelylong span it is desirable that flexing thereof be restricted. For thispurpose, stiffening sections 62 and 63 are formed on the side walls ofthe upper housing section 17 as seen in FIGS. 1 and 5. Grooves 64 formedin the lower edges of such sections 62 and 63 receive the upper edges ofthe side walls 22 of the lower housing section. Thus, the stilfeningsections 62 and 63 effectively stiffen the longitudinal sides of boththe upper and lower housing sections.

An alternate shape of latch and latch shoulder construction is shown inFIG. 6, wherein each latch 71 has a squared nose 72 which locks with amating square portion 73 on a latching shoulder 74 to thereby provide amore positive lock.

To remove the upper housing section with this alternate form of latchingarrangement, pressure must first be applied in a downward direction atpoints indicated by arrows C and D (FIG. 2) to compress the resilientmembers 25 and 39 and to move the shoulder portion 73 below the latchnose 72. Thereafter, pressure must be applied at the points indicated byarrows A and B to move the latches beyond reach of the latch shoulders.Then, release of pressure on the upper housing section will allow theresilient members to rebound, clearing the shoulders of the latches.

Although the invention has been described in detail and certain specificterms and languages have been used, it is to be understood that thepresent disclosure is illustrative rather than restrictive and thatchanges and modifications may be made without departing from the spiritor scope of the invention as set forth in the claims appended hereto.For example, the invention may be embodied in machines other than addingmachines, such as calculating machines, cash registers, typewriters,etc.

Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be secured byUnited States Letters Patent is:

1. In a business machine including a machine frame; a lower housing partenclosing part of said frame, said housing part having a flexible sidewall, resilient means supporting said frame on said housing part, anupper housing part enclosing the remainder of said frame, said upperhousing part having a side wall, second resilient means mounting saidupper housing part on said frame, means on said side wall of said upperhousing part forming a latching shoulder, and means on said side wall ofsaid lower housing part forming a latch, said latch and said latchingshoulder having interlocking portions, said latch and said latchingshoulder being normally concealed by said housing parts, and said latchbeing releasable from said latching shoulder to permit removal of saidupper housing part from enclosing relation with said frame by forcingsaid housing parts together against said resilient means whereby torelease said interlocking portions and by flexing portion of said sidewall of said lower housing part adjacent said latch inwardly toward saidframe.

2. In a business machine including a machine frame; a first housing partenclosing part of said frame, said housing part having a first sidewall, resilient means intermediate said frame and said housing part, asecond hou ing part enclosing the remainder of said frame, said secondhousing part having a second flexible side wall, second resilient meansintermediate said frame and said second housing part, means on saidfirst side wall forming a latching shoulder, and means on said secondside wall forming a latch, said latch and said latching shoulder havinginterlocking portions, said latch and said latching shoulder beingnormally concealed by said housing parts, and said latch beingreleasable from said latching shoulder to permit removal of one of saidhousing parts from enclosing relation with said frame by forcing saidhousing parts together against said resilient means and by flexing aportion of said second side wall adjacent said latch inwardly towardsaid frame.

3. In a business machine including a machine frame; a first housing partenclosing part of said frame, said housing part having a first sidewall, a second housing part enclosing the remainder of said frame, saidsecond housing part having a second flexible side wall, means on saidfirst side wall forming a latching shoulder, a latch integral with saidsecond side wall, said latch and said latching shoulder havinginterlocking portions, said latch and said latching shoulder beingnormally concealed by said housing parts, resilient means mounting saidfirst housing part on said frame, and said latch being releasable fromsaid latching shoulder to permit removal of said first housing part fromenclosing relation with said frame by moving said first housing partagainst said resilient means whereby to unlock said interlockingportions and by flexing a portion of said second side wall adjacent saidlatch inwardly toward said frame.

4. In a business machine including a machine frame; a first housing partenclosing part of said frame, said housing part having a first sidewall, a second housing part enclosing the remainder of said frame, saidsecond housing part having a second flexible side wall, means on saidfirst side wall forming a latching shoulder, and a latch integral withsaid second side wall, said latch normally engaging said latchingshoulder, said latch and said latching shoulder being normally concealedby said housing parts, and said latch being releasable from saidlatching shoulder to permit removal of said first housing part fromenclosing relation with said frame by flexing a portion of said sidewall of said second housing part adjacent said latch inwardly towardsaid frame.

5. In a business machine including a machine frame; a first housing partenclosing part of said frame, said housing part having a side wall, asecond housing part enclosing the remainder of said frame, said secondhousing part having a side wall, one of said side walls being flexible,means on one of said side walls forming a latching shoulder, and a latchintegral with the other of said side walls and normally engaging saidlatching shoulder, said latch and said latching shoulder being normallyconcealed by said housing parts, and said latch being releasable fromsaid latching shoulder by flexing a portion of said flexible side walladjacent said latch toward said frame.

6. In a business machine including a machine frame; a

first housing part enclosing part of said frame, a second housing partof flexible material enclosing another part of said frame, means on saidfirst housing part forming a latching shoulder, and a latch integralwith said second housing part and normally engaging said latchingshoulder whereby to maintain said first housing part in cooperativerelation with said second housing part, said latch and said latchingshoulder being normally concealed by said housing parts, and said latchbeing releasable from said shoulder by flexing a portion of said secondhousing part adjacent said latch inwardly toward said frame.

7. In a business machine including a machine frame; a first housing partenclosing part of said frame, a second housing part of flexible materialenclosing another part of said frame, means on said first housing partforming a latching shoulder, and a latch integral with said secondReferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,598,342 Boyden May 27, 1952 2,720,332 Holt Oct. 11, 1955 2,843,969Nessel July 22, 1958 2,973,602 Nessel Mar. 7, 1961 2,973,881 OstrowitzMar. 7, 1961 2,984,382 Florsheim May 16, 1961

1. IN A BUSINESS MACHINE INCLUDING A MACHINE FRAME; A LOWER HOUSING PARTENCLOSING PART OF SAID FRAME, SAID HOUSING PART HAVING A FLEXIBLE SIDEWALL, RESILIENT MEANS SUPPORTING SAID FRAME ON SAID HOUSING PART, ANUPPER HOUSING PART ENCLOSING THE REMAINDER OF SAID FRAME, SAID UPPERHOUSING PART HAVING A SIDE WALL, SECOND RESILIENT MEANS MOUNTING SAIDUPPER HOUSING PART ON SAID FRAME, MEANS ON SAID SIDE WALL OF SAID UPPERHOUSING PART FORMING A LATCHING SHOULDER, AND MEANS ON SAID SIDE WALL OFSAID LOWER HOUSING PART FORMING A LATCH, SAID LATCH AND SAID LATCHINGSHOULDER HAVING INTERLOCKING PORTIONS, SAID LATCH AND SAID LATCHINGSHOULDER BEING NORMALLY CONCEALED BY SAID HOUSING PARTS, AND SAID LATCHBEING RELEASABLE FROM SAID LATCHING SHOULDER TO PERMIT REMOVAL OF SAIDUPPER HOUSING PART FROM ENCLOSING RELATION WITH SAID FRAME BY FORCINGSAID HOUSING PARTS TOGETHER AGAINST SAID RESILIENT MEANS WHEREBY TORELEASE SAID INTERLOCKING PORTIONS AND BY FLEXING PORTION OF SAID SIDEWALL OF SAID LOWER HOUSING PART ADJACENT SAID LATCH INWARDLY TOWARD SAIDFRAME.